Faecal shield chemical defence is not important in larvae of the tortoise beetle Chelymorpha reimoseri (Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Stolaini)

The most frequently investigated defence mechanism among larvae of tortoise beetles is protection by faecal shields, which generally present chemicals that are directly sequestered and/or modified from larval host-plants. In the present work we investigate the tortoise beetle Chelymorpha reimoseri that feeds on the leaves of Ipomoea carnea fistulosa (Convolvulaceae), seeking for the importance of this mechanism to their larvae. We show that 4th instar larvae suffer low predation regardless of the presence of shields in field and laboratory bioassays with ants and chicks. Chloroform extract from larvae without shields provided high protection against predation as shown in bioassays in the field, as well as against chicks, suggesting that C. reimoseri does not rely on the shield for protection. The aqueous extract of the shields did not show activity in such bioassays. The compounds responsible for this protection have yet to be identified, and it remains an open question as to whether they are sequestered from the host plant or de novo biosynthesized. This is the first record of chemical defence in cassidine beetles without the need for faecal shields. These findings indicate that more attention should be paid to chemicals present in the tissues of larvae and/or adults of tortoise beetles; the protective compounds sequestered from host plants or de novo biosynthesized can provide an alternative or complementary strategy against predation in these insects.     

纳米氧化锌对凋落物降解微生物群落结构和代谢功能的影响

随着纳米技术的迅速发展,纳米氧化锌广泛应用于抗菌涂料、电子装置、个人护理品等产品中,其生态毒理机制已成为生态学的研究热点。为了探究水生丝状真菌对纳米氧化锌的响应及适应机制,本文选用3种不同粒径的纳米氧化锌30 nm、90 nm和200 nm作为影响因子,通过室内模拟钻天杨Populus nigra L.凋落叶降解过程,研究纳米氧化锌的慢性暴露对水生丝状真菌生物量及代谢功能的影响效应,其中包括真菌的生孢率、群落多样性、脱氢酶活性、胞外降解酶活性、体系pH值、凋落叶降解速率以及碳氮含量,结果表明,粒径较小的纳米氧化锌(如30 和90 nm)对水生丝状真菌活性及细菌代谢功能的抑制作用更强,且抑制作用达到显著水平所需的时间越短。46 d的慢性暴露显著影响了水生丝状真菌的生孢率与群落组成,其中Alatospora的生孢率与凋落叶降解速率呈显著负相关,表明该菌是纳米氧化锌的敏感菌,而<Anguillospora和Flabellospora在纳米氧化锌的介入环境中产出较多的分生孢子,表明其为纳米氧化锌的耐受菌。另外,纳米氧化锌的长期暴露使水生丝状真菌对有机氮的降解功能具有促进作用,而对有机碳的代谢功能没有明显影响。总之,水生丝状真菌对纳米氧化锌的响应导致了凋落叶降解速率及碳氮分解效率在各处理间呈现显著差异。综上所述,本研究为纳米氧化锌对生态过程的毒理机制提供了必要的理论基础。     

基于Sentinel-2卫星数据的中山市植被叶面积指数反演及空间分析

以广东省中山市为例,基于SNAP软件和2景Sentinel-2卫星数据,反演并分析中山市全域及特定区域内植被叶面积指数。结果表明,反演结果与中山市生态空间格局和植被保护状况相一致,且与其他研究报道中对水库库区林地采用现场实测方法获得的数据高度一致,表明该方法反演城镇植被叶面积指数具有良好的适用性和准确性。     

滚石冲击作用下埋地高压输气管道的可靠性分析

地质灾害往往会对高压输气管线造成安全隐患,岩体崩塌引起的滚石冲击是导致埋地输气管道第三方破坏的主要破坏形式之一。通过概率分布求出滚石产生的偶然性载荷对管道的冲击频率,根据可靠性理论,用管线钢自身的强度和撞击产生的工作应力,建立强度应力的安全裕度方程。然后利用LS-DYNA有限元软件,建立滚石冲击管道模型,计算不同条件下埋地输气管道的最大应力Sm,确定Sm的分布规律。最后,根据应力和强度的分布求得管道可靠度指标和失效概率。本研究提供的方法和结论对埋地输气管道的风险评估、管道的设计及施工具有重要的参考价值。     

Research and practice on fluctuation water injection technology at low permeability coal seam

In order to solve the problem of poor affusion effect on low permeability coal seam, the paper analyzes the micro process of the coal seam water infusion in wetting coal and determines the main factors affecting coal seam water infusion. The permeability of the NO.3 coal seam in east working face of Xingcun coal mine by MTS815.03 servo-controlled rock mechanical test system has been tested. Results show that when the peak stress in coal sample specimens reaches 48.53 MPa, permeability ranges from 0.5158 to 2.9576 × 10⁻⁸ Darcy, and it means that the coal seam is low in permeability and difficult in water injection. Based on the characteristics of low permeability and geostress situation, efficient fluctuation water injection technology with permeable agent and relevant process parameters have been designed. The surface tension of the permeable agent developed here is 31.18 m N/m when mass concentration reaches 0.05%. The permeable agent can permeate into 2 cm thick coal layer completely in 10 s, thus improving the wettability of water effectively and the water injection pressure fluctuates between 7 MPa and 25 MPa. The application of the technique in the 3rd coal seam in east working face of Xingcun coal mine shows not only single-arch injection experienced a significant increase on average, from no more than 10 m³ to 63.3886 m³, but also the effect of dust fall, cooling and rock burst prevention is remarkable.     

Phytocapping: An alternative technique to reduce leachate and methane generation from municipal landfills

Avoiding percolation of water into refuse is the key function of landfill covers. ‘Phytocapping’ has been considered as an effective, economical and environment-friendly technique for landfill remediation. In this technique, trees are established on a layer of soil cap placed over the refuse. Soil cover acts as a ‘storage’ and trees act as ‘bio-pump and filters’. For effective functioning of this technique, it is critical that an ‘optimum’ depth of soil is placed over the refuse, and ‘suitable’ plant species are used as plant cover. Preliminary results of a phytocapping trial (using 21 tree species and two depths of soil layers) show that the established trees can remove more water than that received via rainfall and rainfall interception can reduce up to 20% of the rain reaching the soil in a 1.5 year old plantation. The study is also trialling an US numeric model ‘STOMP’ (Subsurface Transport over Multiple Phases), to calculate daily water balance, to identify suitable plant species and to optimise thickness of the soil cover to be used in phytocapping.     

Retrieving leaf area index for coniferous forest in Xingguo County, China with Landsat ETM+ images

Spatial distributions of the leaf area index (LAI) needed for carbon cycle modeling in Xingguo County, China were estimated based on correlations between the field-measurements and vegetation indices (VIs). After making geometric and atmospheric corrections to two Landsat ETM+ images, one in January 2000 and the other in May 2003, three VIs (SR, NDVI, and RSR) were derived, and their separate correlations with ground LAI measurements were established. The correlation with RSR was the highest among the three VIs. The retrieved LAI values for January 2000 were lower than those for May 2003 because of a small seasonal variation in the coniferous forests (predominantly masson pine) and the decrease in the understorey vegetation during winter.     

An expert system for the quantification of fault rates in construction fall accidents

Introduction. Expert witness reports, prepared with the aim of quantifying fault rates among parties, play an important role in a court's final decision. However, conflicting fault rates assigned by different expert witness boards lead to iterative objections raised by the related parties. This unfavorable situation mainly originates due to the subjectivity of expert judgments and unavailability of objective information about the causes of accidents. As a solution to this shortcoming, an expert system based on a rule-based system was developed for the quantification of fault rates in construction fall accidents. The aim of developing DsSafe is decreasing the subjectivity inherent in expert witness reports. Methodology. Eighty-four inspection reports prepared by the official and authorized inspectors were examined and root causes of construction fall accidents in Turkey were identified. Using this information, an evaluation form was designed and submitted to the experts. Experts were asked to evaluate the importance level of the factors that govern fall accidents and determine the fault rates under different scenarios. Based on expert judgments, a rule-based expert system was developed. The accuracy and reliability of DsSafe were tested with real data as obtained from finalized court cases. Result. DsSafe gives satisfactory results.     

Inhibition of decomposing leaf litter of Cinnamomum camphora on growth of Pharbitis nil and the alleviation effect of nitrogen application北大核心CSCD

In plant configuration of landscaping, herbaceous plant is often inter-planted with ornamental tree species. But unreasonable plant collocation may reduce the effectiveness of afforestation for the inhibition effect of tree on the growth of understory, and further more affect the greening effect. Camphor (Cinnamomum camphora) is widely planted in landscaping accompanying herbaceous plants including morning glory (Pharbitis nil). But camphor was reported to have allelopathic effect on its adjacent plant, therefore correct selection and collocation of plants has important significance to obtain good greening effect. This research aimed to study by a pot experiment the effects of decomposing leaf litter of Cinnamomum camphora on the growth, phenological traits of Pharbitis nil, as well as modification of these effects by nitrogen application. Three application rates of C. camphora leaf litter including 25, 50 and 100 g/pot (denoted by L25, L50 and L100, respectively) and a control (CK) were implemented. Nitrogen application began on the 34th d of decomposition, with 0.39 g urea being divided into three equal portions and added continuously to each pot. The results showed that (1) The height, basal diameter, leaf area and biomass production of Pharbitis nil were all inhibited sharply by exposure to the leaf litter, being decreased by 32.85%-83.78%, 5.23%-23.00%, 30.31%-58.47%, and 40.34%-84.54%, respectively, with the inhibition effect increasing both in intensity and stability with the increase of leaf litter. Such inhibition effect was obviously alleviated by exogenous nitrogen application. (2) The flowering dynamics of Pharbitis nil was greatly impacted by the leaf litter, with the flower initiation 2.5-10.0 d later and the flowering duration 6.3-11.4 d longer compared to the control. Although the leaf litter-treated plants exhibited more (0.5-3.3) flowers than the control, their quality decreased, and the hundred-grain weight of the seed decreased with the increase of leaf litter. However, the differences among treatments in the reproductive parameters mentioned above reduced after nitrogen fertilization. The results indicated that leaf litter of C. Camphora has a great allelopathic effect on morphological and reproductive growth of Pharbitis nil, which may be attributed to the release of phototoxic substances during the decomposition process.     

森林枯枝落叶分解及其影响因素

枯枝落叶在森林生态系统中占有极其重要的地位,枯枝落叶的分解是一个以生物为主要参与者的过程,土壤动物使粗枯落叶实现物理性分解,土壤微生物则使枯落物碎片进一步分解为简单无机分子或转化为腐殖物质。土壤微生物的分解受枯落物自身成份的影响,粗脂肪与可溶性糖等在前期分解,木质素与纤维素等在后期分解,低w(C)/w(N)比枯落物易于分解,枯落物内的有机氮最终将降解为NH 4和NO-3,用于描述枯落物分解的最常用模型是指数方程x/x0=e-kt。自然因素与人为因素引起的火烧也是引起地面枯落物消失的重要因素,它有很强的负面效应,造成有机氮的损失。影响枯落物分解的因素很多,它们主要是通过影响分解生物而起作用,这些因素有树种、温度、湿度、酸碱度、污染等。阔叶树枯落物通常比针叶的分解快,温度与有机氮的矿化有线性关系,硝化作用可在大幅度的温度范围内发生,但最适温度通常在25℃。碳矿化的最适含水量约60%,在过于淹水条件下易于出现反硝化作用而造成氮损失。森林枯落物分解以真菌为主,适于在较高pH条件下进行,但与枯落物种类有关,云杉最适分解酸度为pH5～7,多种阔叶树最适分解酸度在pH3.5,土壤变酸时通常造成细菌数量显著下降,而以真菌占主导。枯落物的处理方式影响森林土地的生产力,移除地面枯落物或采伐剩余的枝叶可造成土地肥力的显著下降,相反,则有利于维持土地肥力。